It’s kind of fun to watch the world fixate on this one item (#7). Then again, I still enjoy air shows, too. Pugachev’s Cobra maneuver, for example. Drives the crowd wild. Relevance to modern combat? Zero.

The writer’s opinion about Pugachev’s Cobra maneuver is the conventional one, but, according to one of Defense Review’s professional contacts, it’s inaccurate. The accompanying image (on right) is a graphical demonstration brief of how the Cobra maneuver can be used to shoot down the opposition in a dogfight (air-to-air combat). Click on it to enlarge it and view it properly. You’ll see it graphically demonstrates the following sequence:

The graphical brief was sent to us in August 2007 by a highly-accomplished and well-respected aeronautics designer/engineer who’s worked on major U.S. fighter aircraft and air-to-air missile programs, and also happens to be a professional contact of ours. Our contact received it from a contact of his (a highly-credible source) at TsAGI (Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute), Russia. Our contact is also highly credible.

If we receive permission to divulge the identities of our contact and his Russian contact, we’ll updated this article, accordingly.

About David Crane

David Crane started publishing online in 2001. Since that time, governments, military organizations, Special Operators (i.e. professional trigger pullers), agencies, and civilian tactical shooters the world over have come to depend on Defense Review as the authoritative source of news and information on "the latest and greatest" in the field of military defense and tactical technology and hardware, including tactical firearms, ammunition, equipment, gear, and training.